Category: Workouts

I played around with a skateboard when I was a kid. I thought it was neat to hang with the boys and skate in the driveway/street. Well, I didn’t get much street time as the street was paved with loose gravel on tar — which melted in the Texas summers.

I came across this YouTube vid: https://youtu.be/jdJjW7pknfE and decided I wanted to give it a try. Why are so many middle agers trying something that kids do often?

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It all started with 23 and me. Initially, I did it bc this company was just getting started, and I enjoy analytics and health and ancestry. Well, once I got the info from this, a colleague of mine told me about DNA Fit. It basically looks at your genetics and how your body handles nutrition, fitness, and metabolism. I found out a lot about my own health! Based on my DNA, it said my body does best with a Paleo diet. So, I opted to do a mostly paleo diet starting in October 2016 — with an upcoming wedding in February 2017, I was on a mission.

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I started ordering Trifecta Nutrition for quick and organic Paleo meals. I would eat these meals 5 days a week for lunch at work. One of the biggest things I noticed was that I was fuller longer and had much less cravings for sweets. From October to February, I lost 10 lbs and got lean. Of course, I was also doing Sweat (iphone app) by Kayla Itsines. This is a no-nonsense program that you can do anywhere and anytime. In the past, I’ve done almost all of the beachbody products: p90, p90x, p90x3, chalean xtreme, turbo jam, insanity, turbo fire, hammer and chisel — of all of these, I really highly recommend P90x3 — it’s a terrific program that will give you results if you put in the work. But what I found is that I would actually stick to the Sweat program much longer and have faster recovery with her program vs. P90X3.

So what have a discovered about myself as I’ve taken a more Paleo heavy diet? I have less cravings. I perform better physically and mentally. I actually feel like I’m eating more and staying fuller longer. And that (for me), is one thing I absolutely love! Overall, I feel less deprivation…and that makes me happy!

What are your thoughts? Anyone else have similar or different experiences with a Paleo diet?

First off, I was very happy with my Apple watch 1. There’s a lot of great notifications for it and it’s user friendly. One thing I did not like about the watch is that the notifications would go directly to the watch without warning me on the iphone despite my ringer being on.

The main reason why I decided to look for a watch outside of my stellar apple watch is because the battery life on the apple watch is incredibly low. I can only go one day between charges. Sometimes, I’m at work for more than 24 hours so it becomes more cumbersome on the logistics. Sure, I could bring my charger and charge it… but that takes time, effort, and extra cords since it doesn’t have a lightning charger. So, enter the Pebble 2…a Kickstarter project!

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Thanks to my wonderful fiancé, I’m spending more and more time on the water! The calming and relaxing effects are pretty amazing as well as the vitamin D and sunshine!

I love my big surfboard (8’4″) and just floating on the water. An idea occurred to me to get a big raft. But that’s cumbersome. So, then I thought about practicing my turns and paddling strength in the pool. But what about a lounging island or floating flamingo? Boom: the inflatable SUP seemed like a perfect blend of relaxing raft and ocean cruising in an easy to handle, fold-up, easy-storage, and hide-away apparatus.

The decision was tough, but I love comparative graphs the Outdoor Gear Lab provides. And with an honest breakdown like that and comparing the different inflatable SUP brands… My decision was made. Plus, I love supporting local!

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I’m lucky to live in a place that promotes my newbie surf adventure. Albeit, I’m not a water baby… waves that are over my head and currents that pull me under are definitely scary. But, I used to love boogie boarding as a kid and being on the water is nature’s meditative sanctuary.

For someone who is always on the go or doesn’t have a ton of time to drive across town and head to the gym to compete with everyone for workout machines/weights…. the DVD home plan is a great option! But, there’s so many products out there!! Ultimately, you have to find what works best for you and what goal you’re trying to meet. If you want easy (meaning, you follow the nutrition plan and workout plan stated and can put a DVD into a DVD player), Beachbody products are the EASIEST, no-nonsense way to a great workout!! If you’re one who wants bulk and definition, P90X is incredibly successful! If you like dances and miss your cheerleader days, Turbo Jam and Turbofire are terrific!! If you want pure cardio to build endurance, Insanity and Turbofire are your best bets.

P90. This is one of the first videos in the Beachbody mega-workout library from Tony Horton. It’s a low impact solid workout that alternates cardio andsculpting with ab work. It’s relatively short 30-45min and will make you sweat. The reason why it’s for beginners…it teaches you basic form and is low impact. It’s a great way to get that initial calorie burn to be able to step up your workouts!

TurboJam. This workout has positive energy and great dancing routines! You’ll forget that you’re actually working out, but don’t worry…you will sweat and lose goo! Chalene Johnson is the mastermind behind this workout.

Now to step up your game!!

Cardio:

Turbofire: This is a killer CARDIO workout (there are a couple of sculpting DVDs as part of the deluxe set). It has “routines” that you will need to learn first, but do not worry b/c Chalene does a great job of breaking down the set so you can get the moves. If it’s still too fast, there’s an option on the DVD (New to Class) that will breakdown everything so learning the moves doesn’t get in the way of a great calorie burn. This workout incorporates High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) where you keep your heart rate up for a maximal time and take smaller, shorter breaks for maximal benefits in a shorter time. The DVD titles include the length of time for the workouts and range from 15 min to 1 hour. It’s a high-impact great workout!

Insanity. This is the ultimate cardio workout that will knock you on your booty! The warmup is incredibly challenging!! This is not a workout for the faint of heart! Shaun will bust you all throughout the workout if you’re not giving it your all. You’ll notice that some of the participants in the DVD are struggling to keep up and give it 100%. But, that’s the nature of this workout. I think it’s kind of like a bootcamp (in a good way). Shaun will push you past your limits… maybe it’s likened to a short marathon. This is extremely high-impact and based on HIIT physiology. Most of the workouts are 30-45minutes.

Weight-training:

Chalean Extreme: Chalene adds her positivity and great energy to this full body sculpting workout. This is an outstanding workout!! You will see results in as little as 2 weeks if you follow Chalene’s workout and nutrition guide. The workouts are shorter (roughly 30 minutes) but incorporate upper and lower body combination exercises for maximal benefit. One of my faves!

P90X: The ultimate workout. Tony Horton did his homework when he created this workout plan. It will get you in the most incredible shape of your life! Just follow Tony’s eating plan and workout plan and you cannot go wrong! Workouts are roughly 1 hour. It includes both cardio and weight training that’s scheduled according to Tony’s workout guidebook. If I was looking for something guaranteed to sculpt and lean me up…. this would be my go-to program. Hands down.

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

P90X3: This has been my favorite workout yet! It’s packed with total body cardio and weights all in a 30 minute session. Tony pushes you through arms, legs, core, everything…from head to toe!! He does a fantastic job of using all your muscles and cardio to get you great results. The beautiful thing: it’s only 30 minutes. But it’ll be a grueling, sweat-producing, bodyaching 30 minutes that will make you wonder how you could’ve ever spent more than an hour at the gym or studio. It’s a beautiful thing that both yoga and pilates are incorporated as well. This is my go-to morning workout bc I feel so much better when I’ve tackled my workout and can better tackle my day without the excuse of being tired or busy in the evening.

Now that you have the breakdown of the DVDs that I enjoy, what is the best workout program? The best workout program is one you will STICK WITH and continue to do!! Everyone’s situation will be different. Think about your situation and how you will get the most out of the time you have. I’m extremely busy, so I need a workout that will give me the most in the shortest amount of time. 30min to 1hour is a doable time frame for me…but in that time, I want maximum sweat potential.

I’m not spending $40-80/mo on a gym membership (these DVDs are fairly inexpensive compared to the annual expense of gym membership).

These are all terrific benefits…for me. When I get bored of doing these workouts, I simply change up my routine by going for a run, yoga/pilates, golfing, or playing a round of tennis…just something different (Class Pass or Wild Fire)!

Key things to consider when starting a workout program:

Get the ok from your doctor that you’re ready for the increased activity

Have adequate equipment (shoes, towel, water, etc.)

Stick to the nutrition plan (this is key!)

Schedule your workout and do it (try an AM workout!)

If you fall off the wagon… don’t worry, get back on. It’s never too late!

Find a workout buddy to hold each other accountable

Can’t find a local buddy? Try blogging or twitter… there’s tons of people out there who are going through your same situation, workout, etc.

It was a great introduction to surfing, and I felt it was a safe environment. There were 5 other girls that came out and the surf school outfitted us with foam boards and rashguards. There was one instructor for all of us and they did a great job going through all the details of how to hold and handle the board, popping up, surf stance, surf etiquette, just the basics.

I believe I took that class back in 2012. According to this article, you’re never too old to learn to surf! Fast forward to August 20, 2015, when my bf was eager to help teach me how to surf. We headed out to Swami’s with a longboard, and he helped me catch three waves! I was so excited… as was he! In fact, he may have been more stoked! Because I had such a great time, I’m on a mission to learn as much as I can so we can surf together!